Aurochs

{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Aurochs
| status = {{StatusExtinct|when=1627}}
| image = Ur-painting.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption =
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Artiodactyla]]
| familia = [[Bovidae]]
| subfamilia = [[Bovinae]]
| genus = ''[[Bos]]''
| species = '''''B. primigenius'''''
| binomial = ''Bos primigenius''
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision =
''Bos primigenius primigenius'' 
  ([[Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus|Bojanus]], 1827) 
''Bos primigenius namadicus'' 
  ([[Hugh Falconer|Falconer]], 1859) 
''Bos primigenius mauretanicus'' 
  ([[Oldfield Thomas|Thomas]], 1881) 
}}
:''See [[Ur (rune)]] for the rune.''
The '''aurochs''' or '''urus''' (''Bos primigenius'') is an [[extinct]], very large, type of cattle originally prevalent in Europe. The animal's original scientific name, ''Bos primigenius'', was meant as a [[Latin]] translation of the [[German language|German]] term ''Auerochse'' or ''Urochs'', which was (possibly incorrectly) interpreted as literally meaning "primeval ox" or "proto-ox". This scientific name is now considered invalid by [[Integrated Taxonomic Information System|ITIS]], who classify aurochs under ''Bos taurus'', the same species as domestic cattle. However, in 2003, the [[International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature]] "conserved the usage of 17 specific names based on wild species, which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic forms"{{Fact|date=December 2007}}, confirming ''Bos primigenius'' for the Aurochs. Taxonomists who consider domesticated [[cattle]] a subspecies of the wild Aurochs should use ''B. primigenius taurus''; the name ''B. taurus'' remains available for domestic cattle where it is considered to be a separate species.

==English-language nomenclature variations==

The word ''aurochs'' ({{IPAEng|ˈaʊrɒks}} or {{IPA|/ˈɔrɒks/}}) comes to English from German, where its normative spelling and [[declension]] today is ''Auerochs/Auerochse'' (sg), ''Auerochsen'' (gen), ''Auerochsen'' (pl). The declension in English varies, being either ''aurochs'' (sg), ''aurochs'' (pl)<ref>AHD4, headword ''aurochs''.</ref>,<ref>MWU, headword ''aurochs''.</ref> or ''aurochs'' (sg), ''aurochses'' (pl).<ref>MWU, headword ''aurochs''.</ref> The declension ''auroch'' (sg), ''aurochs'' (pl) is acknowledged by MWU,<ref>MWU, headword ''aurochs''.</ref> but it is merely a [[English plural#Plural to singular by back-formation|back-formation analogous to ''pea''-from-''pease'']] that misinterprets the singular form's ending in the /s/ sound (being cognate to ''ox/Ochs(e)''). The use in English of the plural form ''aurochsen'' is not acknowledged by AHD4 or MWU, but is very sensible, being directly parallel to the German plural and analogous (and [[cognate]]) to English ''ox'' (sg), ''oxen'' (pl).

The word ''urus'' ({{IPA|/ˈjʊərəs/}}) comes to English from Latin, but came to Latin from Germanic origins.<ref>AHD4, headword ''urus''.</ref> It declines in English as ''urus'' (sg), ''uruses'' (pl).<ref>AHD4, headword ''urus''.</ref>,<ref>MWU, headword ''urus''.</ref> The Germanic ''aurochs'' itself is from the combination of the ''urus''  root with ''Ochs(e)'', "ox". Although the ''aur-/ur-''  syllable has often been interpreted as being cognate with Germanic ''ur-''  meaning "original/proto-", it may have come from another root referring to water.

The words ''aurochs'', ''urus'', and ''[[wisent]]''  have all been used [[synonym]]ously in English.<ref>AHD4, headwords ''aurochs'', ''urus'', ''wisent''.</ref>,<ref>MWU, headwords ''aurochs'', ''urus'', ''wisent''.</ref> However, this usage is careless, as the extinct aurochs/urus is a completely separate species from the still-extant wisent (the European bison).

==Origin==
[[Image:Long horned european wild ox.jpg|right|thumb|Defensive aurochs.]]
According to the [[Paleontologisk Museum]], [[University of Oslo]], aurochs evolved in [[India]] some two million years ago, migrated into the [[Middle East]] and further into [[Asia]], and reached [[Europe]] about 250,000 years ago.[http://www.toyen.uio.no/palmus/galleri/montre/english/a31922.htm] They were once considered a distinct species from modern European [[cattle]] (''Bos taurus''), but more recent taxonomy has rejected this distinction. The South Asian domestic cattle, or [[zebu]], descended from a different group of aurochs at the edge of the [[Thar Desert]] in [[India]]; this would explain [[zebu]] resistance to [[drought]]. Domestic [[yak]], [[gayal]] and [[Javan cattle]] do not descend from aurochs. Modern cattle have become much smaller than their wild forebears: the height at the [[withers]] of a large domesticated cow is about 1.5 meters (5 feet, 15 [[hand (unit)|hand]]s)<ref>[http://www.mycattle.com/health/dsp_health_article.cfm?storyid=9204 Height] of [[Holstein]] cows (at hips – note that cattle are often slightly taller at the withers than the hips).]</ref>, whereas aurochs were about 1.75 meters (5.75 feet, 17 [[hand (unit)|hand]]s). Aurochs also had several features rarely seen in modern cattle, such as lyre-shaped horns set at a forward angle, a pale stripe down the spine, and [[sexual dimorphism]] of coat color. Males were black with a pale eel stripe or [[finching (cattle)|finching]] down the spine, while females and calves were reddish (these colours are still found in a few domesticated [[cattle]] breeds, such as [[Jersey cattle]]). Aurochs were also known to have very aggressive temperaments and killing one was seen as a great act of courage in ancient cultures.

=== Subspecies ===
At one time there existed three aurochs subspecies, namely ''Bos primigenius namadicus'' (Falconer, 1859) that occurred in India, the ''Bos primigenius mauretanicus'' (Thomas, 1881) from North Africa and naturally the ''Bos primigenius primigenius'' (Bojanus, 1827) from Europe and the Middle East. Only the European subspecies has survived until recent times.

==Domestication and extinction==
[[Image:Czaszka tura.jpg|right|thumb|Skull of an aurochs.]]
[[Image:Jaktorow pomnik tura.jpg|right|thumb|left|Monument to the last aurochs in [[Jaktorów]], Poland.]]
Domestication of the aurochs began in the southern [[Caucasus]] and northern [[Mesopotamia]] from about the [[6th millennium BC]], while genetic evidence suggests that aurochs were independently domesticated in northern [[Africa]] and in [[India]].<ref>(see Shaffer and Liechtenstein 1995, 1999)</ref> Domestication caused dramatic changes to the physiology of the creatures, to the extent that domestic cattle have been regarded as a separate species (see above).

[[Genetic testing|Genetic analysis]] of aurochs bones and of modern cattle has provided many insights about the aurochs. Though aurochs became extinct in Britain during the [[Bronze age]], analysis of bones from aurochs that lived contemporaneously with domesticated cattle there showed no genetic contribution to modern breeds. As a result, modern European cattle are now thought to be descended directly from the Near East domestication process. Indian cattle ([[zebu]]), although domesticated eight to ten thousand years ago, are related to aurochs which diverged from the Near Eastern ones some 200,000 years ago. The African cattle are thought to descend from aurochs more closely related to the Near Eastern ones. The Near East and African aurochs groups are thought to have split some 25,000 years ago, probably 15,000 years before domestication. The "Turano-Mongolian" type of cattle now found in Northern China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan may represent a fourth domestication event (and a third event among ''Bos taurus''–type aurochs). This group may have diverged from the Near East group some 35,000 years ago. Whether these separate genetic populations would have equated to separate subspecies is unclear.

The original range of the aurochs was from the [[British Isles]], to [[Africa]], the [[Middle East]], India and central Asia. By the 13th century A.D., the aurochs' range was restricted to [[Poland]], [[Lithuania]], [[Moldavia]], [[Transylvania]] and [[East Prussia]]. The right to hunt large animals on any land was restricted to nobles and gradually to the royal household. As the population of aurochs declined, hunting ceased but the royal court still required gamekeepers to provide open fields for the aurochs to graze in. The gamekeepers were exempted from local taxes in exchange for their service and a decree made [[poaching]] an aurochs punishable by death. In 1564, the gamekeepers knew of only 38 animals, according to the royal survey. The last recorded live aurochs, a female, died in 1627 in the Jaktorów Forest, [[Poland]]. The skull was later taken by the [[Swedish Army]] during the [[Deluge (history)|Swedish invasion of Poland]] ([[1655]]–[[1660]]) and is now the property of [[Livrustkammaren]] in [[Stockholm]].

In the 1920s two German zookeepers, the brothers Heinz and Lutz Heck, attempted to breed the aurochs back into existence (see [[breeding back]]) from the domestic cattle that were their descendants. Their plan was based on the conception that a species is not extinct as long as all its genes are still present in a living population. The result is the breed called [[Heck Cattle]], 'Recreated Aurochs', or 'Heck Aurochs', which bears an incomplete resemblance to what is known about the physiology of the wild aurochs{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.

== Aurochs in art, history, mythology, and media ==
{{seealso|Bull (mythology)}}
[[Image:Lascaux-aurochs.jpg|thumb|Aurochs on a [[cave painting]] in [[Lascaux]], [[France]].]]
*Aurochs are depicted in many Paleolithic European [[cave painting]]s such as those found at [[Lascaux]] and [[Livernon]] in [[France]]. Their life force may have been attributed with magical qualities, for early carvings of the aurochs have also been found. The impressive and dangerous aurochs survived into the [[Iron Age]] in [[Anatolia]] and the [[Near East]], and was worshipped throughout that area as a sacred animal, the [[Bull (mythology)|Lunar Bull]], associated with the [[Great Goddess]] and later with [[Mithras]].
*Aurochs are depicted on the [[Ishtar Gate]].
*A 1999 archaeological dig in [[Peterborough]], England, uncovered the skull of an aurochs. The front part of the skull had been removed but the horns remained attached. The supposition is that the killing of the aurochs in this instance was a sacrificial act.
*The wild-ox called ''re'em'' (Strong's # 07214) in the [[Bible]] (Numbers 23:22 and 24:8, Deuteronomy 33:17, Job 39:9-10, Psalms 22:21, 29:6, 92:10 and Isaiah 34:7) is occasionally associated with the aurochs and has incorrectly been translated as 'unicorn' in the past (''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,'' Entry for 'Wild Ox', Copyright, 1939, by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
*Julius Caesar wrote about them in ''Gallic War'' Chapter 6.28, "...those animals which are called uri. These are a little below the elephant in size, and of the appearance, color, and shape of a bull. Their strength and speed are extraordinary; they spare neither man nor wild beast which they have espied. These the Germans take with much pains in pits and kill them. The young men harden themselves with this exercise, and practice themselves in this sort of hunting, and those who have slain the greatest number of them, having produced the horns in public, to serve as evidence, receive great praise. But not even when taken very young can they be rendered familiar to men and tamed. The size, shape, and appearance of their horns differ much from the horns of our oxen. These they anxiously seek after, and bind at the tips with silver, and use as cups at their most sumptuous entertainments."
*The aurochs ("bour" in Romanian) was also the symbol of [[Moldavia]]; nowadays they can be found in the coat of arms of both [[Romania]] and [[Moldova]]. The horn of the aurochs is a charge of coat of arms of Lithuanian town [[Taurage]]. It is also present in the emblem of [[Kaunas]], [[Lithuania]] and was part of the emblem of [[Bukovina]] during its time as a ''[[Cisleithania|Kronland]]'' of [[Austria-Hungary]].
[[Image:Moldavia flag.svg|thumb|right|200px|Possible version of a Moldavian princely flag during [[Stephen the Great]] )]]
*Comic-book ''[[Asterix in Spain]]'' features an Aurochs replacing a lion in the Roman circus of Spain, a reference to [[bullfighting]]. The character who manages to defeat the Aurochs decides to be known as ''El Aurochero'' (for [[torero]], stemming from ''toro'', Spanish for ''bull''), and a footnote explains that form ''El Aurocheador'' is incorrect (for [[toreador]]).
*The fantasy novel series ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' by [[George R.R. Martin]] makes frequent use of aurochs in character dialog and setting descriptions in place of more modern cattle to accentuate the otherworldly setting.
*In the [[Magic: The Gathering]] card game expansion sets [[Ice Age (Magic: The Gathering)|Ice Age]] and [[Coldsnap]], Aurochs were used for some of the card imagery and titles.
*The debut album ''Age of Winters'' by [[Austin, Texas]]-based metal band [[The Sword]] includes a song called "Lament for the Aurochs."
*In the MMORPGs [[Asheron's Call]], [[Guild Wars]], and [[The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar]] from [[Turbine, Inc.|Turbine]], aurochs are a type of monster that can be fought.
*The famous last lines of [[Vladimir Nabokov]]'s [[Lolita]] are: "I am thinking of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets, the refuge of art. And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my Lolita."
*An Aurochs hunt features in the novel [[The Iron Hand of Mars]] by [[Lindsey Davis]].
*An Aurochs hunt features in the novel [[Sarum (novel)|Sarum]] by [[Edward Rutherford]].
*In the popular [[anime]] [[Full Metal Panic!]], M.I.T.H.R.I.L's code names for their [[arm slave]]s are all provided with the prefix "Uruz".
*Aurochs are featured in [[Leo Frankowski]]'s "[[Conrad Stargard]]" series. The hero of the story encounters several aurochs in 13th century Poland, and then saves and breeds them to save them from extinction.
*In the game [[Final Fantasy X]], the main character [[Tidus]] is in a [[blitzball]] team called the [[Besaid]] Aurochs.
*The Aurochs is one of the 30 extinct animals to be adoptable in the [[Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals]] expansion pack.
*East Slavic surnames Turenin, Turishchev, Turov, [[Cyril of Turaw |Turovsky]] originate from the East Slavic name of the species (Tur).<ref>Russian Surnames. Popular Etymological Dictionary. Yu. A. Fedosyuk. 6th Ed.</ref>
*Aurochs feature in the series [[Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]] by [[Michelle Paver]]

== See also ==
* [[Chillingham Cattle]]
* [[Wisent]]
* [[Ur (rune)]]
* [[Heck Cattle]]

==Notes==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>

==References==
* American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition (AHD4). [[Houghton Mifflin]], 2000. Headwords ''aurochs'', ''urus'', ''wisent''.
* Bunzel-Drüke, M. 2001. ''Ecological substitutes for Wild Horse'' (Equus ferus Boddaert, 1785 = E. przewalslii Poljakov, 1881) and ''Aurochs'' (Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827). Natur- und Kulturlandschaft, Höxter/Jena, 4, 10 p. AFKP. [http://www.abu-naturschutz.de/_dnload/substitu.pdf Online pdf (298 kB)]
* C. Julius Caesar. ''Caesar's Gallic War.'' Translator. W. A. McDevitte. Translator. W. S. Bohn. 1st Edition. New York. Harper & Brothers. 1869. Harper's New Classical Library.
* Garfield, Richard van. 1995. ''Magic the Gathering: Gatherer search: Aurochs.'' http://gatherer.wizards.com/?first=1&last=100&term=aurochs&Field_Name=on&Field_Rules=on&Field_Type=on&setfilter=Allsets&colorfilter=All
* International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 2003. ''Opinion 2027 (Case 3010).'' Usage of 17 specific names based on wild species which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic animals (Lepidoptera, Osteichthyes, Mammalia): conserved. Bull.Zool.Nomencl., 60:81-84.
* [http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com Merriam-Webster Unabridged] (MWU). (Online subscription-based reference service of [[Merriam-Webster]], based on Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002.) Headword ''aurochs''. Accessed 2007-06-02.
*[[Jim Shaffer|Shaffer, Jim G.]] (1995). Cultural tradition and Palaeoethnicity in South Asian Archaeology. In: Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia. Ed. George Erdosy. ISBN 8121507901
* Shaffer, Jim G. (1999). Migration, Philology and South Asian Archaeology. In: Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia. Ed. Bronkhorst and Deshpande. ISBN 1-888789-04-2.
* Vuure, T. van. 2002. ''History, morphology and ecology of the Aurochs'' (''Bos primigenius''). Lutra 45-1. [http://members.chello.nl/~t.vanvuure/oeros/uk/lutra.pdf Online pdf (603 kB)]
* Vuure, C. van. 2005. ''Retracing the Aurochs: History, Morphology and Ecology of an Extinct Wild Ox.'' Pensoft Publishers. Sofia-Moscow.
* Wilson, Don E. and DeeAnn M. Reeder: ''Mammals''. 

==External links==
*[http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/aurochs.htm The Extinction Website - Aurochs (''Bos primigenius primigenius'')]
*[http://www.aristotle.net/~swarmack/aurohist.html History of aurochs in Poland]

[[Category:Extinct animals of Europe]]
[[Category:Megafauna of Eurasia]]
[[Category:Extinct mammals]]
[[Category:Bovines]]
[[Category:Pliocene mammals]]
[[Category:Pleistocene mammals]]
[[Category:Recent extinctions]]
[[Category:Prehistoric bovids]]
[[Category:Extinct animals of Asia]]

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[[it:Bos taurus primigenius]]
[[he:שור הבר האירופי]]
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